10 Best Co-Op Games of the 2020s (So Far)

We all know that gaming is a fantastic solo hobby, but it can be even better when you have someone to share the chaos with.

There’s just a special kind of magic that only happens when you share the screen with someone else, whether you're screaming at your best friend to quickly wash a dish or just laughing until your stomach hurts over a failure. Having a partner-in-crime completely transforms the experience for the better.

And the 2020s have been a true goldmine for cooperative gaming, delivering experiences that don't just add a second player as an afterthought, but literally build their entire world, pacing, mechanics, and overall feeling around the beauty of teamwork (or the lack of it). It is a decade that has already given us modern, ruin-your-friendship level tests of coordination, much to our delight.

So, if you are currently looking for a fresh excuse to team up with your favorite person (or maybe you just want to see which co-op titles earned the latest bragging), this list is for you! So grab your player two, stock up on some snacks, and let’s dive into the 10 best co-op games of the 2020s so far.

10 Elden Ring Nightreign

A Dark, Punishing Co-Op Dream (or Nightmare)

While the original journey through the Lands Between with Elden Ring allowed for occasional multiplayer assistance only, Elden Ring Nightreign leans into a dedicated, co-op-focused experience designed to let players brave FromSoftware’s punishing world together.

Basically, you and two other players must survive a three-day cycle and defeat the final boss on the third day, and it is just as brutal as you would think – since you don't just have to worry about staying alive (and in a Soulsborne universe, you know exactly how complicated that can get), but you're also actively fighting against the clock.

And Nightreign is incredibly fun, on top of being a completely different take on the co-op genre that usually moves away from the core elements that define a Soulslike, which is exactly why it is kicking off our list today.

9 Lethal Company

Corporate Slaves vs. Cosmic Horrors

If you want a game that perfectly encapsulates the chaotic indie spirit of the 2020s, Lethal Company is the definition of a breakout hit. This hilarious yet genuinely tense survival game drops you and your team into the boots of low-wage workers tasked with scavenging scrap metal from abandoned, industrialized moons to meet a corporate quota.

However, these moons are crawling with terrifying and lethal monsters, and your visibility is simply awful, which actually is its main charm. Also, the game uses proximity voice chat in a super fun way that creates unforgettable moments where you are quietly talking to your friend through a dark hallway, only to hear their voice suddenly cut out mid-sentence – warning you that a monster is near and just killed your friend!

So it just hits that rare, addictive sweet spot where pure comedy meets genuine horror, making every successful escape feel like a miracle.

8 Grounded 1 & 2

Honey, I Shrunk the Squad

One of the most fun and inventive cooperative experiences of the decade is the Grounded franchise, which is why I’m cheating a little bit and putting both games together here – because no matter which one you play, you are going to find countless hours of fun with your friends (along with a few moments of pure terror whenever you run into spiders, of course).

In this franchise, Obsidian Entertainment basically took the classic survival-crafting layout and gave it a brilliant twist by shrinking all players down to the size of an ant in a suburban backyard. Because of that, you and your friends must build shelters, gather resources, and simply fight to survive against a literal ecosystem of predatory insects.

And exploring the towering blades of grass feels like navigating a dense, alien jungle, while turning everyday trash like juice boxes or lost toys into massive bases is quite clever! Also, the combat requires a good amount of coordination, especially when an insect suddenly ambushes your camp in the middle of the night. It is a gorgeous adventure that perfectly captures the wonder (and danger) of childhood imagination.

7 Rematch

Suit Up, Ronaldinho

In the spirit of World Cup fever, Rematch is the football game that gets incredibly creative by building an experience completely dependent on competitive synergy and sports strategy to make you feel like Messi – well, actually, you’ll feel more like Bruce Lee meets Messi.

That’s because it is an arcadey footy game that shifts the traditional sports formula by mixing football mechanics with a martial arts style and putting players in control of just a single player on the field from a third-person perspective, meaning it literally forces everyone to rely on each other to build plays, guard and find open spaces, lock down the defense, make quick passes for goals, and so much more.

Sadly, there are only online options, and it doesn't feature local split-screen or couch co-op options here, but it remains a brilliant mind game of spatial awareness and quick positioning, where a single miscommunication can easily cost you the match.

6 Monster Hunter Wilds

Drinking Beer and Hunting Dragons Together

I only actually started playing Monster Hunter titles because one day I asked a friend for a game recommendation that allowed for two things at the exact same time: drinking beer and killing dragons with friends, and the answer immediately was Capcom's franchise.

To my delight, it is literally exactly that, especially because it has a beautiful cooperative system where players can team up to hunt monsters – and Wilds takes that to a whole new level. Stepping into a huge, living ecosystem with your friends to track down colossal, aggressive beasts is pure hype, and when you finally find one and one player hangs onto its back while another grabs its legs, it is extremely satisfying!

Besides, the game thrives on tactical weapon variety, letting you pair different playstyles together to exploit a monster's weakness, which allows for a perfectly coordinated trap. It results in a beautifully constructed experience that rewards patience, preparation, and tight mechanical execution.

5 Phasmophobia

House Rules, Sammy

In case you ever wanted to pretend that you and your friends are part of the Scooby-Doo gang or friends of the Supernatural brothers, where you actually get to be ghost detectives alongside buddies, Phasmophobia was practically tailored for you.

Kinetic Games’ indie hit started its terrifying journey in early access back in 2020 before expanding to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2024, and it has already proved that ghost hunting is way better (and way scarier) when you have friends to scream with.

Equipped with EMF readers, spirit boxes, night-vision cameras, and other respectable paranormal gadgets, your squad enters haunted locations to deduce exactly what kind of paranormal entity is lurking in the dark. And the psychological tension is thick, especially because the ghost actively listens to your real-world voices! So huddling together in a small closet while holding your breath as a specter walks right past the door is a heart-stopping experience that turns simple amateur detective work into an iconic co-op horror staple.

4 Helldivers 2

Sweet Liberty, the Friendly Fire!

Helldivers 2 exploded onto the scene in 2024 and quickly captured everyone’s heart, turning the spread of “Managed Democracy” into a modern gaming phenomenon.

This third-person tactical shooter simply throws you and your squad into intense, over-the-top galactic warfare against overwhelming hordes of bugs and killer automatons. And honestly, that premise alone is enough to give you many, many hours of pure cooperative fun.

But the true star of the show here is the chaos caused by the game’s uncompromising friendly fire mechanics. When things get frantic, calling in an orbital strike or dropping a fresh supply pod is just as likely to blow your teammate into pixelated dust as it is to kill the monsters, which can easily result in a friendship-testing argument or just hysterical laughter in the party chat! It’s an adrenaline-fueled, spectacular cooperative ride that rewards tight communication, quick reflexes, and a healthy sense of humor when everything inevitably goes wrong.

3 Meccha Chameleon

Following closely in the frantic, multiplayer footsteps of recent indie sensations like Lethal Company (which obviously had to be on this list too), Meccha Chameleon is the latest delightful social co-op experience to completely steal our hearts.

Basically, it is a hide-and-seek game where you use paint to camouflage yourself directly into the environment, trying to make sure no one finds you before the timer runs out. It's a beautifully simple concept that gets instantly hilarious, especially if you have teammates with you trying to blend into a wall or piece together a specific object background as a group.

It’s the absolute perfect recipe for non-stop laughter, being a fresh, visually charming, and instantly addictive addition to any game night rotation.

2 It Takes Two

Baby!

It is simply impossible to talk about modern co-op gaming without putting It Takes Two right at the center of the conversation. Released originally in 2021, Hazelight Studios' title isn't just a great cooperative game, but a masterclass in game design that requires two players to function.

That’s because the gameplay constantly reinvents itself with every single level, forcing Cody and May, a bickering couple on the verge of divorce, to tackle 3D platforming, hack-and-slash action, RPG elements, puzzles, racing, rhythm sequences, and even more genres all within the same game.

It simply throws mechanical concepts at you at a breakneck pace, ensuring you and your partner are constantly surprised, engaged, and forced to talk to each other to survive – plus, it is also the perfect experience to share with casual players or even non-gamers.

1 Baldur’s Gate 3

Ruining Friendship Dynamics in a D&D Experience

Larian Studios gave us one of the greatest RPGs ever made with Baldur’s Gate 3, but playing through this award-winning campaign as a co-op experience simply elevates the entire journey into something beautifully unpredictable and fun.

Instead of following a single chosen hero, your entire party of friends gets to share the steering wheel of the narrative. You can stick together to tackle tactical, turn-based combat, pool your wits during major story decisions, or (if you want pure chaos) completely split up to explore different corners of the map at the same time.

Sure, there's the downside of battles taking a pretty long time to finish, but that is easily compensated for by the fact that you have someone right there to debate choices with, laugh at Astarion’s advances, help brainstorm a wild new way to solve a puzzle, or give their thoughts on your companion romance picks. It just completely changes the experience, making the game feel even more like a true tabletop-style adventure.